Justin Bieber, "Peaches"
Courtesy PhotoJustin Bieber’s pop/soul jam “Peaches” (featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon) broke a Grammy record that was established just last year by Beyoncé’s “Black Parade” — the song of the year nominee with the most credited co-writers.
Eleven songwriters are nominated for their work on “Peaches.” That’s two more than received nominations for co-writing “Black Parade,” which was nominated for song of the year in late 2020.
In the early decades of the Grammy Awards, songs nominated for song of the year were the work of just one or two, and occasionally three, songwriters. That has changed dramatically as “songwriting by committee” has become more commonplace.
Final round voting for the 64th annual Grammy Awards is underway. Voting members of the Recording Academy have until Wednesday, Jan. 3, at 6 p.m. PT to cast their ballots. The winners will be announced on the Grammy telecast on Jan. 31.
Here are the songs that reflect the evolution in the prevailing songwriting method – the first songs with this many writers to receive Grammy nominations for song of the year.
Four: In 1981, Christopher Cross’ “Arthur’s Theme” became the first song of the year nominee that was written by four songwriters. Cross co-wrote the sprightly film song (which won an Oscar) with Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager.
Five: In 1994, Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do” became the first song of the year nominee written by five songwriters. Crow co-wrote the jaunty tune with David Baerwald, Bill Bottrell, Wyn Cooper and Kevin Gilbert.
Seven: In 2000, Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name” became the first song of the year nominee written by seven songwriters. The four members of what was then a quartet — Beyoncé Knowles, Le Toya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson and Kelendria (Kelly) Rowland — co-wrote the feminist-themed song with LaShawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins and Fred Jerkins III.
Eight: In 2018, Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like” became the first song of the year nominee written by eight songwriters. Mars co-wrote the pop/soul jingle with Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus and Jonathan Yip. (“That’s What I Like” is the only one of these songs that won the award.)
Nine: In 2020, Beyoncé’s “Black Parade” became the first song of the year nominee written by nine songwriters. Beyoncé co-wrote the celebration of Black culture and activism tune with Denisia Andrews, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk and Rickie “Caso” Tice.
11: In 2021, Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” (featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon) became the first song of the year nominee written by 11 songwriters. Bieber co-wrote the song with his featured artists, who write under the names Ashton Simmonds and Giveon Dezmann Evans, as well as Louis Bell, Bernard Harvey, Felisha “Fury” King, Matthew Sean Leon, Luis Manuel Martinez Jr., Aaron Simmonds, Andrew Wotman and Keavan Yazdani.
NEWS
Brad Paisley has called Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding “one of the least pretentious weddings he’s ever seen”.
The country star attended the ceremony alongside his actress wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley. They joined around 1,000 guests at New York City’s Madison Square Garden earlier this month as the global pop icon married the American football star.
Although the celebration attracted enormous attention and involved tight security and a stunning makeover of the famous arena, Paisley said the occasion never came across as excessive.
“Ironically, (it) was one of the least pretentious weddings that I've ever seen or ever will see,” Paisley told The Associated Press during an interview. “It meant a lot to be (invited). It was, kind of, a big thank you from her to invite us.”
Paisley, who chose Swift as an opening performer for his tour when she was a teenager in 2007, said he was delighted to be included in what many considered the biggest celebrity wedding of the year.
“They were very clear with the invite, and I took this personally when I got the invite, because in the invite, it said, ‘If you're getting this, you mean a lot to us,’” he revealed.
The musician also explained that guests were not told the wedding’s exact location until the date drew nearer.
“It was really fun to watch the cat and mouse game of, like, ‘We can tell you roughly where it's going to be, we're not gonna say what building... and here's the date. If you're in, we'll tell you more,’” he continued. “I went to my wife, I said, ‘Want to go?’ and she said, ‘Absolutely, we gotta be there!’ So, we did it, it was RSVP yes.”
Other famous attendees included Brad Pitt, Gigi Hadid, Bradley Cooper, Ed Sheeran, Sabrina Carpenter, Hugh Grant, Haim and Tom Hanks.
